Percy George Bentham (1883–1936) was a British sculptor whose works include portrait busts, statues and several war memorials. He was a member of the

Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...

, and a member of the Art Workers' Guild. He was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in 1883. He studied at

City and Guilds of London School of Art Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...

under

William Silver Frith William Silver Frith (1850–1924) was a British sculptor. Frith graduated from the Lambeth School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools, and became assistant to Jules Dalou. By 1880 Frith had succeeded Dalou as master at the newly formed South L ...

, the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

School, and in Paris. In 1907 he was awarded a first prize of £20 and a silver medal, for a set of four models of a figure from the life. He was a pupil of Alfred Drury R.A., and assistant to

Albert Bruce-Joy Albert Bruce-Joy (21 August 1842 – 22 July 1924) was an Irish sculptor working in England. His original surname was Joy but he became known under his hyphenated name Bruce-Joy later in life. He was the brother of the painter George W. Joy. ...

and also in the studio of William Robert Colton.

Career

He exhibited at the

from 1915 to 1930. One of his works is 'Navigation', a stone relief on the Leadenhall building in the City of London, formerly the site of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company. The plaster for ‘Fisherman and Nymph’ had been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1922. It was cast in bronze and is now in the lake at Coombe Abbey Country Park. In the 1920s he produced several War Memorials: Audenshaw, Greater Manchester (1920), Haydon Bridge, Northumberland (1921), Trowbridge,

Dukinfield Dukinfield is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, on the south bank of the River Tame opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 19,306. Within the boundaries of the historic co ...

and

Ballywalter Ballywalter ( and ''Walter'') is a village or townland (of 437 acres) and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the east (Irish Sea) coast of the Ards Peninsula between Donaghadee and Ballyhalbert. Ballywalter was formerly know ...

, co. Down. He produced carvings in 1924 for the War Memorial building at Felsted School, and the memorial reredos at St James Church, Emsworth. In 1932 at Eaton Socon he did much work on the rebuilding of the church after a fire, including "a rood screen, choir benches, parclose screens, roofing, and the organ case, all in Suffolk oak. The stone carving includes many symbolical corbel groups and portraits. Among the faces are those of the Bishop of St Albans, the Archdeacon of Bedford, the vicar of Eaton Socon, the churchwardens, the architect, the clerk of the works, and the builders' foreman." He worked on the Great Hall at University College London, in 1932 and carved decorations for the Mocatta Theatre, including the relief portraits in bronze of Mr. Mocatta and Mr. Gustave Tuck. He carved the new pulpit for St Stephen's Church, St Albans. He also produced some bronze door handles for the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

, Newmarket, and at Ascot the carved heads of the arches of the Royal Pavilion. Other work includes two lions in bronze for Halifax, Nova Scotia, the models for the sculptural decorations in the British Government Buildings, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, and statues at the Harbour Board Offices in Liverpool. He was an associate of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and a member of the Chelsea Arts Club.

Personal life

He married Ellen Celia Hobbs in 1909 at

St Matthew's Church, Willesden St Matthew's Church is an Anglican parish church in Willesden in the London Borough of Brent. It is situated on the corner of St Mary's Road and Fawcett Road in Willesden. It was built between 1900 and 1906, designed by W. D. Caröe and is a Gr ...

. They had three children, Frederick (b 1911), Philip (b 1913) and Celia (b 1927), all born in Willesden. Philip also became a sculptor. In 1911 the family were living in Harlesden. Later he had a studio at 8A Gunter Grove, off the Fulham Road. In 1936 he lived on Pebworth Road, Wembley. He died on the 17 June 1936 at St Bartholomew's Hospital.Probate 1936

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentham, Percy George English sculptors People from Fulham 1883 births 1936 deaths 20th-century British sculptors